Elevator casters for furniture and the like



March 27, 1962 c. MALLONEE 3,026,557

ELEVATOR CASTERS FOR FURNITURE AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Clare/Ice Mal/met WAM A ffarney.

Ma rch 27, 1962 c. MALLbNEE 3,026,55

ELEVATOR CASTERS FOR FURNITURE AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 15, 1960 2 Sheets$heet 2 7137. J INVENTOR.

flare/Ice Ala/loner #Wam Filed Feb. 15, 196i), Ser. No. 8,591

Claims. (Cl. 16-83) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in casters or caster systems for furniture or the like, and has as its principal object the provision of caster wheels adapted to be mounted on the frame of a piece of furniture and operable to be extended below or retracted above the plane of the lower ends of the furnture legs or other normal floor-engaging portion of said frame. When ex tended beneath said plane, they elevate the furniture legs above the floor whereby the furniture piece is supported entirely by said wheels for easy transportation from place to place Without scratching or marring the floor. When the wheels are retracted above said plane, the furniture piece is supported entirely by its legs, whereby to prevent accidental movement or shifting thereof.

Another object is the provision of a caster device of the character described wherein all of the caster wheels which may be required for the adequate support of a furniture piece may be operated, that is raised or lowered, simultaneously from a single control station.

A further object is the provision of a caster device of the character described having a mechanical advantage such that the Wheels may be lowered, and even the heaviest furniture thereby lifted, with the application of only a very small manual force, so as to be easily operable by any housewife or even a child.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, efficiency and dependability of operation, adaptability to furniture pieces of various sizes and shapes, and applicability to objects other than furniture, such as factory machines.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the lower portion of the frame of a couch or the like, with a caster device embodying the present invention mounted operatively thereon,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line IIII of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1, shown in section, of the operating crank and screw, and related parts.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies to the lower portion of the frame of a couch or the like. Said frame consists of a front rail 4, back rail 6, and sides 8 and 9, all rigidly joined together to form an open rectangle, and a leg It) affixed at each corner whereby normally to support said frame above the floor 12.

The device forming the subject matter of the present invention includes a pair of flat bars or brackets each indicated generally by the numeral 14 and extending horizontally between front and back rails 4 and 6, respectively adjacent the opposite sides of the frame. Each of said bars includes a central section 16 and a pair of end sections 18. Each end section is adjustably secured to the central section by a bolt 20 which passes through the end section and through a longitudinally elongated slot 22 formed in the central section. The outer end of each end section has a turned up lip 24 secured to the adjacent frame rail 4 or 6 by bolts 26. It will be apparent that by loosening bolts 20, the bars may be adjusted to frames of various sizes.

3,d26,55'l Patented Mar. 27, 1962 Adjacent the outer end of each outer section 18 of each bar 14, a vertical shaft 28 extends therethrough, being supported for vertical sliding movement in a bearing member 30 welded or otherwise fixed to the upper surface of the bar. Said shaft is preferably non-circular, to prevent rotation thereof in said bearing. To the lower end of shaft 28, below the bar, is attached a swivel caster 32 including a caster wheel 34. Adjacent the upper end of the shaft, above bearing 30, a collar 36 is ailixed thereto, and a helical compression spring 38 is disposed about the shaft, hearing at its lower end against bearing 36 and at its upper end against collar 36, whereby to urge the shaft upwardly to such an extent that wheel 34 is disposed entirely above the horizontal plane of the lower ends of legs 10, and hence above the floor 12. Attached to the extreme upper end of shaft 28 is a clevis 46 in which is rotatably mounted a pulley Wheel 42, said pulley wheel being rotatable on a horizontal axis and disposed in the vertical plane of the centerline of bar 14.

A cable 44 is afiixed at one end to each of the outer sections 18 of each bar 14, between shaft 28 and the adjacent lip 24. As shown, a sheet metal bracket 46 is riveted to bar section 18, and has a slot 48.

through the slot by a block 56 affixed on the cable within the bracket. Said cable extends upwardly from bracket 46, is trained over pulley wheel 42, then extends downwardly and is trained under a pulley wheel 52 rotatably mounted in a clevis 54 aflixed to the upper surface of bar section 18 at the side of shaft 28 opposite to bracket 46. From pulley wheel 52, cable 44 extends horizontally inwardly along the upper surface of bar 14 to a point adjacent the center thereof, where it is trained around a pulley wheel 56 which is rotatably mounted on a vertical post 53 fixed in central section 16 of the bar.

From pulley wheels 56, it will be seen in FIG. 1 that the cables 44 from all four of the casters extend horizontally in substantially parallel relation toward one of the side rails 8 of frame 2. Adjacent said side rail, each of said cables extends through a hole 60 in an elongated plate 62, and is secured therein by a block 64 affixed to said cable adjacent the plate. Adjacent its respective ends, plate 62 is provided with integral sleeve bearings 66 having sliding engagement respectively on a pair of parallel guide bars 63 extending parallel to the adjacent portions of cables 44, and afiixed in a base plate 79 affixed to the inner surface of rail 8 by screws 72. A screw shaft 14 is threaded in a bushing 76 formed centrally in plate 62, and extends parallel to guide bars 68, being journalled in a bushing 78 formed integrally with base plate 70, and secured therein by a collar 86 against longitudinal movement. Said shaft extends outwardly from base plate 70 through a hole 82 formed in frame rail 8, and is fitted at its outer end with a crank 84, whereby said shaft may be turned manually.

It will be seen that when crank 84 is turned to move plate 62 toward side rail 8, all of cables 44 will be tensioned, and will force shafts 28 downwardly against the pressure of springs 38, by forcing pulley wheels 42 downwardly. This forces caster wheels 34 against the floor 12, lifting the legs 16 free of the floor so that the furniture is supported entirely on said wheels for easy rolling movement of the furniture from place to place. When crank 84 is turned in the opposite direction, cables 44 are slackened, whereby shafts 28 are raised by springs 38, lowering the furniture legs into contact with the floor and raising caster wheels 34 above the floor.

The device has several advantages over any prior structure within my knowledge. All of the wheels are controlled from a single station. Crank 84 is detachable from screw shaft 74, so as to prevent accidental or un- Cable 44' extends through said slot and is prevented from pulling authorized lowering of the wheels as by children. The device is adaptable, as by adjusting the lengths of bars 14 by loosening screws 20, and by arranging cables 44 in any desired pattern, to be attached to many different sizes and shapes of furniture, machines and the like. It may be sold as a separate unit for attachment to pre-existing furniture .or other objects. It provides a very substantial mechanical advantage, so that even the heaviest furniture may be elevated by any housewife or child. This mechanical advantage is derived both from screw 74, and from the fact that each cable extends over pulley wheel 42 and is affixed to the bar 14, rather than being attached directly to the upper end of shaft 28. This latter provides a block-and-tackle arrangement procuring a downward force on shaft 28 approximately double the tension of the cable.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be readily apparent that many minor changes of structure and operation could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. "A caster device for furniture comprising a plurality of elongated brackets adapted to extend across and be affixed at their ends to a furniture frame, a pair of vertical shafts carried for vertical sliding movement in each of said brackets respectively adjacent the opposite ends thereof, a caster wheel mounted at the lower end of each of said shafts, and operating means for moving said shafts upwardly or downwardly relative to said brackets, whereby said wheels may be selectively extended beneath or retracted above a horizontal plane defined by the normal floor-engaging portion of said furniture frame, said operating means comprising spring means associated with each of said shafts and urging said shaft upwardly to retain the associated caster wheel yieldably in its retracted position, a first pulley mounted at the upper end of each of said shafts, a second pulley mounted on the associated bracket adjacent each of said shafts but lower than the associated first pulley, a cable associated with each said wheel, being secured at one end to said bracket and extending upwardly over the associated first pulley and downwardly around the associated second pulley, and a tensioning device adapted to be affixed to said frame and having an operating member movable relative to said frame and means for moving said operating member, the opposite ends of all of said cables being secured to said operating member, whereby all of said wheels may be extended or retracted simultaneously.

2. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said tensioning means comprises a base member adapted to be affixed to said frame, a screw journalled in said base member and threaded in said operating member, and a crank for turning said screw, whereby said operating member may be moved to apply a tension to said cables which is greater than the manual force required to turn said crank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,021,773 Grub Apr. 2, 1912 1,022,646 Toll Apr. 9, 1912 1,219,071 Bodnar Mar. 13, 1917 2,464,503 Halley Mar. 15, 1949 2,735,130 Unsworth Feb. 21, 1956 

